His Butler, Heroic
by Kenzie Perth
Summary: While chasing an errant Loki in an attempt to salvage several powerful magical items, the X-Men are sucked into not only the past, but an alternate past. There, they must attempt to blend in with Victorian street life and avoid the watchful eyes of the Queen's Hound Dog and his demonic butler, all the while hunting down the mischievous Asgardian before he causes any more trouble.
1. Chapter the First: A Robbery Goes Wrong

**A/N This is my first ****fan fiction! Yay! Right. This is a Black Butler/X-Men (with Loki) crossover, though Black Butler won't come in until the next chapter. Please R&R! Constructive criticism always helps. More to come!  
**

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own Black Butler or X-Men OR Loki (that's the one I'm particularly sad about.) If I did, then... Well... Life would be interesting. Very Interesting.**

* * *

Loki was running for his life. That in itself was not all that unusual. Loki often ran for his life, as he had particular skill at not only angering his fellow Asgardians, but in general everything that walked, slithered, swam, or crawled on Yggdrasil, the mighty World Tree.

What made this occurrence so unusual was the simple fact that he had been caught. Most often, Loki got away with what he had done, or at least until Heimdall noticed that something was up. This time, however, he had the misfortune of attempting to steal some very valuable enchanted rings at the same time that one of the X-Men, a thief and card player by the name of Gambit, was endeavoring to do the exact same misdeed.

Loki had fried every security system in the heavily guarded museum in which the said enchanted rings were kept with a wave of his hand. He had dropped every guard in the structure into a deep sleep with a twitch of his staff, though that had taken a considerable amount of time. He held his head high as he walked straight down the hallway which into the vault in which the treasure was kept, certain that every outcome had been thought of, and neutralized. However, when he opened the door, ignoring the deadbolts and locks that lined the portal up and down, he saw something he was most certainly not expecting to see.

Someone had their hand stuck in the glass case, in the process of picking up the last ring. That someone wore a long tan trench coat over a skin-tight full-body suit with a scarlet torso, black pants, and thick, heavy black boots. That same someone had long, unkempt, messy brown hair, kept out of said face with a black strip of fabric that was part of the suit. Lastly, that someone had glowing, pink eyes and roguish smile on their face, and in the hand that wasn't currently tucking said enchanted ring away in a pocket of the long, spacious overcoat, a staff.

With out bothering to face Loki, the thief spoke. "Lot of noise you've been making out there." He turned to face Loki. "Must be pretty confident then."

Loki sneered. Petty mortals. They always managed to get in the way, no matter what he was trying to do. "And what would one of the X-Men be doing here, stealing from a famous museum?" He shook his head, lowering his staff so it pointed at Remy's chest. "I'm afraid you're acting rather villainous. Can't have that, now, can we?" He moved forward to attack, magic words filling up his mind, but before he could utter anything, both of them froze.

A thin voice lifted through the air. "No you can't be told, no-ooo." Loki stared at Gambit. Gambit looked confused, then laughed. Loki put his staff down, and stared as the thief facing him completely let down his guard to rummage through voluminous pockets. A mouse ran out of one of the pockets, squeaking, then falling to the floor to hide behind a display case. A half-eaten Snickers bar followed, as did a handful of cards. Loki was pleased to note that these cards were not glowing. Finally, Remy found what he was looking for. He held it aloft in the air, looking very pleased with himself.

Loki stared. "A cellphone?" Gambit had what appeared to be an old-fashioned flip phone with the X logo across the front.

"Not a phone," Gambit chuckled, "But a communicator." He flipped up the top, bringing it to his ear.

"Hello, Logan." He listened for a moment as expletives came pouring out of the phone. "Nice to hear you too." His smile faded, and his expression became serious. "I've got trouble at this end. Loki showed up. In the middle of a robbery." More expletives. "I know, I'm sorry, but shouldn't we do something about him?" Silence, then what sounded like a grudgingly agreeing tone. Gambit flipped the communicator shut. And smiled. Loki figured it was time to high-tail it out of there.


	2. Chapter the Second: Stuff Happens

**A/N: Sorry about not writing in Gambit's accent - I have no idea how. Don't sue me! Anyway, universes cross over now, and stuff will happen in the next chapter in which characters frond afferent universes interact. I'm also gonna start some other stories, as well, so check those out, please**!

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything mentioned below, though I wish I did.**

* * *

Loki had to hand it to the X-Men: they were quite good as a team. A small group, consisting of Logan, Kitty, Kurt, and Gambit, along with a few others whose names remained a mystery, had managed to back Loki into a corner. He literally had no escape. At least, not much of one.

Loki looked down at his hands. "I really didn't want to have to do this." He muttered softly. Looking back up, he grinned in a disturbing manner. "Though it might be rather fun." With those words, the God of Mischief lifted from his coat a star-shaped glowing blue amulet with rather unusual origins.

In fact, the amulet was a gift from an old friend – perhaps friend wasn't the right word. Ms. America Chavez had grudgingly given him the pendant as a gift, explaining what it did all the while. "You see," she had said. "The amulet will open a portal to whichever dimension you're nearest to when you activate it. However, you get to figure out getting back. The dimensional magic stored in the charm only works once." For that reason, Loki had put of using it as long as possible, but seeing as he didn't have a choice, and Gambit was looking particularly ready to use his exploding cards, he activated it.

Or at least, attempted to.

The wall behind Loki remained stubbornly portal-free.

Loki shook it. Spun it. Muttered various invocations that should have worked. At last, in frustration, he threw it on the ground, where it shattered. Then, a giant glowing blue star appeared. That, at least, explained why the amulet only worked once.

He backed into the portal in the wall. "See you, puny mortals!" With that, he disappeared.

The X-Men stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what just happened. Then, Kitty jolted them into action. "The portal's closing! After him!" No one questioned her, merely leaping after their leader into the slowly collapsing blue shape.

The portal vanished shortly after that. And with it, all evidence that anyone had ever been there.

* * *

Ciel Phantomhive, head of the Phuntom Toy Company, sat facing his butler as they rode in his carriage, staring at the tickets in his hand. He then looked up at the arching entrance directly in front of him. Noah's Ark Circus, hmm? He smiled inwardly. The Queen's Guard-Dog shall be investigating here, indeed.

* * *

**Yeah, that was kinda a weak ending. Next chapter will be longer, I promise!**


	3. Chapter the Third: It's a Circus!

**A/N: I'm going on vacation for a couple weeks, so don't expect any new chapters. Also, I'd love to find a beta reader... Unlikely, though.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler, Loki, or any of the X-Men. I wish I did, though.**

* * *

Kitty Pryde blinked as bright sunlight filled her eyes. Strange, she thought it had been night. Then she remembered the events of only a little while ago, and understood. They were somewhere else, her, the rest of the X-Men, and presumably, Loki. Anywhere was possible, a different time, a different planet, or maybe even an entirely different dimension.

Then she remembered – the rest of her team. Panicking, she glanced around, to find them all sprawled on the ground around her, deeply unconscious. They were in a dark alleyway, but a few rays of sun reached back to where they lay, and what looked like an early afternoon street scene was visible. Sneaking forward, Kitty realized that all the people outside of the alley were in Victorian dress. Surmising (correctly) that where ever they were was set back in time, Kitty realized that the team would stick out like a sore thumb.

As she stared out at the street, Kurt, having just regained consciousness, poked her in the back. "Kitty?"

She flipped around with a start. "Yeah?"

"Vhat... Vhat just happened?" Kurt rubbed his eyes sleepily, then started as he realized where they were, and the scene almost directly in front of them. "Oh, ja. Loki." He poked what seemed like an innocent enough wrist-watch, and his reflection rippled to match that of the fashions outside.

Kitty followed his cue, pressing buttons on the image-inducer that the Professor had supplied the entire team with after the Renaissance incident. No one needed another Da Vinci painting of the X-Men, as wonderful as it was. It made the whole anonymity idea a bit more difficult. As the rest of the team woke up slowly, a surprisingly small amount of panic showed its face. The simple truth of it was that so many strange and unusual things happened to the X-Men that this seemed merely a trip in the park. Of course, that premonition was to prove very wrong indeed.

Kitty's first order of business was to find somewhere to blend in. Newspapers revealed that they were in London, England, it was January 1889, and Queen Victoria was ruling. The team, disguised as street-folk, wandered around for a while, looking for somewhere to stay, somewhere to live, for their duration in this world. Finally, Kurt stopped them. He pointed to a sign stuck to the wall of a rowdy tavern. Noah's Ark Circus, it said. He turned to the others with a roguish grin.

* * *

Ciel Phantomhive was truly annoyed with his butler. Perhaps it wasn't just Sebastian, perhaps a bit of it was due to the circus crowd that screamed and cheered, or maybe the childishness of what was going on before him, or the thought that the servants were probably destroying the manor while he was away. But as Sebastian volunteered for the beast taming act, and promptly got bitten by the tiger, he realised that a good deal of it was probably because of that demonic servant of his.

Later, Ciel Phantomhive was blessing his butler's genius as he managed to get back into the circus tents on the pretense of having the spot where "Betty", the tiger, bit him looked at by the circus doctor. That soon faded as Ciel sat in his carriage, bored out of his mind. Sebastian was really taking an incredibly long amount of time. He watched as _finally_ his butler approached. And got in the carriage. And promptly informed him that they'd both be joining the circus. Ciel's jaw dropped. Yes, it was entirely Sebastian's fault. When they got back, there would be a reckoning.

* * *

Joker stared at the newcomers, a little bit curious to their strange accents and attitudes. "So let me get this straight, again – you rich folks want to join our circus?" The brown haired girl, who seemed to be the leader, nodded vehemently. "Guess we'll have to try you out then." He smiled. "Th' name's Joker. What's yours?"


	4. Chapter the Fourth: Employment

**A/N: Right, I re-edited this chapter because it was absolutely horrible. I choked when I saw all the typos. Also, I've made it quite a bit longer. So please re-read!**

* * *

The entire X-Men crew had passed with sparkling auditions that left Joker in awe. The Danger Room training did indeed have its uses, Kitty mentally admitted. All had been welcomed quite enthusiastically into the circus. That is, all but one Quentin Quire.

The pink-haired telepath in question had no performance skills to speak of at all, and so, as it was, flunked his entry. The other team-members had quietly laughed about this, but reassured him that he could investigate elsewhere. And that is how, two days later, while the other X-Men performed and had (undoubtedly) tons of fun, Quentin Quire found himself applying for a job as a servant.

Sitting facing the telelpath was a man dressed in the black uniform of a butler, entirely black with the exception of white gloves and and shirt. Amber, almost reddish eyes stared back at Quentin with interest, half-hidden behind long black bangs and similarly styled hair. Something about this man made Quentin nervous; he exuded an aura similar to Apocalypse or any of the really powerful mutants, though for the life of him, Quentin could not figure out why.

Finally, the butler, who introduced himself as "Sebastian Michaelis, though you will refer to me as Mr. Michaelis", sat back, a glint in his eye. "I do believe Bocchan would be quite interested in you." The butler stood up. "Come this way." He gestured to the door leading out to the main level.

Upon reaching an impressive door, Gothic Butler, as he began to be nicknamed in Quentin's head, knocked on said door. "Young Master, may I come in?"

There was a slight pause, accompanied with the rustling of paperwork, then a sigh. "Come in, Sebastian." A bored but strangely young-sounding voice replied.

Sebastian – much easier than Mr. Michaelis – pushed open the door. Quentin nearly gasped in surprise. At the far end of the room, in front of some magnificent windows, sat a desk and a large, ornate chair. In that chair sat a boy who could be no more than thirteen, a bored expression resting on his face as he turned his face towards the disturbance. Blue-black hair nearly covered one bright blue eye, contrasting strikingly with his dark green suit. His other eye was concealed by the way of an eyepatch, and Quentin could not help but to be curious as to what was underneath. He was tempted to probe the other's mind to see, but something told him that that might not be a very good idea.

"Well?" The boy's tone was a combination of obvious superiority and boredom. Quentin clenched his teeth. The boy's voice was one of an aristrocrat.

Sebastian bowed low. "I come on a matter of employment. This young man wishes to work as a foot-man at this estate."

The boy flicked at a fly buzzing around his head lazily. "And what makes you think that he's qualified to work here?" He turned to look at Quentin scorchingly. "He certainly doesn't look like much."

Coughing, the butler hid a smile behind his glove. "He has some… Unusual talents." Bowing low, he took on a patronizing tone. "Would you care to demonstrate, Mr. Quire?"

Quentin was frozen for a moment. He never informed the butler of his mutation while he was being interviewed, but what else could he be reffering to? Nevertheless, he had the feeling that here, he would be better off revealing his abilities. He grinned, cracking his knuckles. Besides, he hadn't had a chance to show off for a while.

"Right." He said. "Let's get cracking."

Amid his desplay of telekinesis, he caught something about his potential new employer. He was, in fact, a mutant as well. An empath, Quentin thought. Grinning, he manifested his favorite weapon, a psychic shotgun. An empath's no match for a telepath, indeed.

* * *

Ciel watched his potential new employee with interest. Telekinesis, was it? It could be quite useful when added to his arsenal, but something about Quire made him nervous, like the pink-haired boy who was only slightly older than him could stare right into his mind and pick up everything he thought. Nevertheless, the pros outweighed the cons, and just like that, Quentin Quire became an employee and pawn of Ciel Phantomhive.

Yawning with boredom, (much to the telepath's annoyance), Ciel waved a hand. "Whatever. He can have the job, just keep him out of my way. I don't need another bumbling idiot to make my job harder."

If Ciel had any idea how much trouble those words would have caused, he would have never have said them. But even the greatest minds cannot see into the future, so Ciel merely dismissed the boy from his mind and turned to more troubling matters. It appeared that there was yet another disturbance, and as usual, Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, had ordered him to investigate.


	5. Chapter the Fifth: Loki Returns!

**A/N: No, I haven't forgotten this story! I was busy, and I had horrible Writer's Block! But listening to the Fullmetal Alchemist Soundtrack somehow helped. *Shrugs*. Aaaanyway. Here it is! **

**Disclaimer:**

**Kenzie: For my other story, I've been having the characters read the disclaimer, even though some of them have been far from helpful. *Glares at Neah.* So I thought I'd ask the characters in this story if they want to do the same! *Turns to Ciel.***

**Ciel: No. Way. In Hell.**

**Kenzie: Aaaww... Oh well. Hem hem. *Does an Umbridge imitation.* I think it should be perfectly obvious that Kenzie Perth does not own Black Butler or Loki or the X-Men. They all belong to their respective creators. **

**Loki: Is there any reason you're talking to yourself in third person?**

**Kenzie: Be quiet.**

* * *

Loki, for once, was having fun. He had forgotten how much he had enjoyed the Victorian era – the fashion sense, the government – everything about it was just right up Loki's alley.

That was, in fact, where Loki was, hiding in an a secluded alleyway just off a main street, where the various utterly inept law enforcement officers chasing him were not likely to find him. That was the one part of Victorian England he didn't like: the penchant for hanging people for the tiniest of crimes. He hadn't technically done anything except be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and look suspicious, so naturally, all blame was to be placed on him. Ah well, it was good for exercise, and Loki was no stranger to running. (As was previously mentioned in Chapter One, untrue reader. Just in case you forgot.)

That brought him to the other problem. Recently, there had been a string of murders and the like, and while he had nothing to do with it, Loki had.

Wait, wait, back up a second. That didn't make sense.

Except it actually did. Because just this once, Loki managed to be completely innocent and completely guilty at the same time. Having multiple versions of yourself in one place tended to do that.

The explanation was really quite simple in and of itself. Apparently, this universe had a Loki too, and being semi-immortal, living from the Viking times to the Victorian era was no big stretch. Now, Loki liked to think that he had matured in the time since then. He liked to believe that he had changed for the better, and indeed he had. But this version of him obviously didn't think the same way, and had decided to go on a killing spree to assume dominance over the Earth. Naturally, this sort of behavior was frowned upon by the general populace. Normally, Loki wouldn't care too much. He'd leave the defeat of the villain to the heroes, the good guys, only helping when he deemed it absolutely necessary, and even then, only from a distance. Unfortunately, this particular villain happened to look just like him, which made sense, since he actually was him, but made for quite a bit of inconvenience, as he was constantly mistaken for, well, himself.

He had gotten away with disguises for a while, donning illusions whenever necessary, as to not be arrested for various crimes that had been committed by Loki II, as he was now nicknamed. When he had seen the X-Men, however, in disguise, walking down the street, talking and completely oblivious, he had panicked, and running in the other direction, completely forgot about his disguise. So now the Coppers, as they were (perhaps not so kindly) nicknamed, were not only after his duplicate, but were now aware that there were more than one of him (however ridiculous that may seem) and thus, he ended up having to disguise himself more than ever.

Perhaps the Victorian era was not as fun as he thought.

No matter, he had the matter of the X-Men to take care of, not to mention Loki II. While he was at it, there was the matter of the disappearing children and the circus. Might as well investigate that as well, to get it out of the way. Good karma, as they say. Loki was not as heartless as the legends state. Only ninety-nine one hundredths.

* * *

Quentin stared furiously at the boot. Master Phantomhive, as he demanded to be called, had left, muttering something about "a damn circus." Fortunately, he had taken Goth Butler with him, but that only meant that the pink-haired telepath was stuck with the other servants for company for the duration of the circumstances. As kind and welcoming as the maid, cook, and gardner had been, they were all rather hopeless when it came to actually doing their jobs. And before he left, Goth Butler had made it very clear that he expected work to be done when he came back, assigning them all tasks. He had also made it very clear that if that was not the case, there would be pain, and the telepath didn't really want to test that. Quentin's had been to polish all the boots, and when he was done, to do all the jobs that the other servants tried but botched. He scrubbed at the boot a little more, then set it down and sighed. Ten down, eighty million to go. Just how many pairs of shoes did that little blue-haired brat need? Not even Dazzler had that many, and she had the largest wardrobe he had ever seen. At least, until now.

As he mentally scrubbed, the rag covered with polish moving up and down seemingly by itself (there was no way he was going to touch that thing), he pondered what the rest of the team might be doing. As much as he hated to admit it, he actually missed some of them. Not that he'd ever admit it, even on the pain of death. They'd never let that go, he knew that for sure.

A loud explosion interrupted his thoughts. With a groan, he sat up, turning to the direction it came from. "Now what?" He mumbled, straightening up to go see if there was anything salvageable left.

Quentin Quire, though one would never guess by looking at him, was perfectly suited to be a servant in the Phantomhive household.


	6. Chapter the Sixth: Meetings

Joker smiled happily at the group in front of him, clapping his hands together. "And now what you've all been waiting for! Tent assignments!" He held up a scroll, shaking it for emphasis.

Everyone, whether internally or externally, groaned.

Ciel edged a touch closer to Sebastian, who was engaged in a glaring match with that Shinigami – Wilma, was it? No, that was a girl's name. Ah well, it wasn't like it really mattered anyway. What mattered was finding the missing children and getting out of there as soon as possible, preferably without having to perform. The little earl wasn't sure how much longer he could go on being called Smile.

The newly nicknamed Short-stack stood on the far side of the gaggle of X-Men. Logan really wanted to do something very rash – such as pop his claws, cut down a tent or two, and then run away – but he knew that he had to remain at this damned circus as long as Loki stayed out of sight.

Kurt, nicknamed Blue by Joker, was having the complete time of his life. It had been so long since he had been in a circus. The nostalgia it brought back – his family, his first kiss, Amanda – it nearly made him want to break down with the multitude of emotions accompanying it.

Kitty, now called Cat, stood between the two polar opposites, both literally and figuratively, as Logan and Kurt had placed themselves on either side of her. Gambit stood on the other side of the blue fuzzy elf, and beside him was Pixie, who was, to say the least, not very pleased about this whole mess.

Joker nodded. "Just calm down folks, I know you must be excited."

Wolverine snorted. "I think you're delusional." Of course, this was said very quietly under his breath, so only Kitty could hear. She suppressed a giggle of amusement, and straightened up, glaring at him.

"We're just waitin' for one more – he arrived late yesterday, so we didn' get a chance to introduce him." Joker was the epitome of excitement, contrary to his quite uninterested audience. He bobbed up and down, juggling the scroll along with various other small, colorful items that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

A noise came from behind the group: a noise of equal parts surprise and panic. The X-Men whipped around to see none other than exactly the Asgardian they were searching for.

Loki was more than a little surprised to see the X-Men there, to say the least. He wasn't surprised, however, when they didn't take his appearance well. Wolverine popped his claws, ignoring Joker's startled look, and growled. Kitty and the others all assumed fighting stances, glaring fiercely at the prince of lies.

Loki cleared his throat. "Um, hello?"

Quentin wasn't entirely sure how much longer he was going to last.

Sebastian, whom he soon learned was the one that kept this place from blowing up regularly, was still not back. Normally, he wouldn't have cared, except for the fact that Baldo had blown up his meal. And Quentin was hungry. The telepath grinned. Baldo was about to find out why it was never a good idea to make an X-Man hungry.


	7. Chapter the Seventh: Exposition

**A/N: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't update! I'm sooooo sorry! I was at Girl Scout Camp, and they didn't allow electronics! So, don't hurt me! Disclaimer time!**

**Loki: Why do I have to do it?**

**Neah: I have to do it in all the other stories, so you can suck it up and say the disclaimer. *Glares***

**Loki: Fine. Kenzie Perth doesn't own Black Butler or X-Men. Also, thanks to all reviewers, favoriters, and followers. Thank you.**

**Neah: That wasn't so bad, was it?**

**Kenzie: Neah. You're starting to sound like me.**

* * *

Loki looked like he'd just been run over by an eighteen-wheeler, which hadn't even been invented yet. Or like he'd been told that Odin was going to a sleepover with Laufey and was bringing rainbow pony cupcakes. Or like he had just been told that he'd been adopted. (He knew how that one felt.) The point is, he was shocked.

The X-Men didn't look too happy to see him, either. (Actually, Wolverine looked kinda pleased, which was even more worrying.) Kitty Pryde looked like she wanted to phase him into the middle of a highway and then leave. Gambit looked like he just wanted to punch him. And the rest of the X-Men just looked kind of confused, but menacing at the same time.

It was a pretty pickle, indeed.

Loki stepped back, putting his hands up. "Uh... Hi?"

Wrong thing to say.

Wolverine charged at him, claws out and at the ready, growling profanities the entire way. The green-clad Asgardian jumped nimbly out of the way, still trying (and failing) to appear non-threatening. "I just want to tal – eep!" He spun, barely avoiding three glowing cards headed his way. His eyebrow twitched. As much as he hated to admit it, he was loosing his cool. "Fine! You want to play that way, then let's!" He pulled out a glowing, red sword out of seemingly nothing.

Ciel was watching the proceedings with mild concern. He was just about to say something to Sebastian when the butler in question spoke.

"Damage Twig." The demonic servant said, with out so much as blinking.

Ciel was taken aback. "What?" He stared at Sebastian.

"It's called Damage Twig. The sword." Sebastian brushed his bangs dramatically to the side, accompanied by raindrops and sparkles. (Grell: Eeeeee! Bassy!) He gestured towards the orange-red sword that was now going to work against the various oddities facing him.

William, standing next to the duo, snorted oddly. Ciel jumped, then turned. "Did you just laugh?"

"What? How ridiculous." The reaper pushed up his glasses, staring sternly at the blue-haired boy from behind lens flashes. "I do not laugh."

Sebastian smirked. "Why am I not surprised?" His grin got a tiny bit bigger.

"I would you would refrain from speaking. It does not become me to talk to dirty beasts like you demons." William clutched his scythe a bit tighter, looking supremely annoyed.

Ciel shot him a hiss and a look, jerking a thumb at Joker, who seemed completely oblivious, instead absorbed in the raucous battle right in front of their noses, which William promptly ignored. Apparently, the reaper didn't know what subtlety was. Ciel promptly face-palmed.

Joker was in shock. These – these – these people were bloody brilliant! They had to be in the circus! They'd add so much! And they could be helpful... He grinned slightly.

Loki was having fun. It had been a long time since he had been in a good fight, and while he wasn't a muscle-headed tank-brain like his brother, he enjoyed stretching his muscles every once in a while. The problem was, he wasn't actually trying to fight. In fact, he had already determined he wanted the X-Men's help with fighting Loki II. However, to do that, he had to communicate with them. Easier said than done, especially with Wolverine on the team. Finally, he lost it. "Everyone! Just shut up and listen to me!"

All the people in the general vicinity shut up and listened, even those not even involved in the dispute.

"Listen! We have bigger problems than me!" There was a pause. "Well, actually, the problem is me, but..."

Wolverine snorted. "Wait, what?"

Loki sighed. Exposition time, apparently.

* * *

**Read and review, everyone!**


	8. Chapter the Eight: Truces and Phoenixes

**A/N: I'm back! Thank you so much to all reviewers! You made my day! (Actually, it was only one person, but thanks anyhow!) Ciel, please do the disclaimer.**

**Ciel: I'm not going to do it. Sebastian, read the disclaimer, please.**

**Sebastian: Yes, My Lord.**

**Kenzie: That accent! *Fangirls***

**Ciel and Sebastian: *Annoyed glare***

Sebastian: Ignoring the author, neither Marvel or Black Butler belong to Kenzie Perth. They all belong to their respective owners. 

**Grell: And I own Sebby-Chan! 3 *Fangirls***

**Sebastian: Great, now you're here. *Punch to the face***

* * *

Honestly, Loki was rather surprised that the X-Men had actually decided to try listening to him. Wolverine, of course, was all for running him through straightaway, especially when the Asgardian made his sword vanish in surrender. Surprisingly enough, however, Gambit and Kitty held him back, though it was clear that they'd rather join him. He had a feeling they were rather curious as to what he was going to say.

After managing to wave off Joker, (who seemed abnormally excited for some reason), and making sure the three others left, which the blue-haired one in particular seemed reluctant to do, Loki sat the very hostile team down and began explaining.

He started off simple. "I imagine you heard what happened with the inter-dimensional parasite called Mother and the team Young Avengers?"

At Kurt's confirming nod (and Wolverine's annoyed grunt), Loki continued.

"Most of that isn't important right now, but it'll make explaining easier. At one point, courtesy of Miss America Chavez, the team traveled through many different dimensions." Here he paused, and winced. There were some unpleasant memories that this subject brought up. "The why isn't important. The key thing is that through our travels, we found many different versions of ourselves."

Logan grunted. "Get on with it. I don't see how this is relevant at all."

Kitty looked thoughtful, though. "I'm starting to piece together what's the problem here, I think." She turned to look at the Canadian mutant. "And I didn't know you knew such a complicated word as relevant! Good job!"

The adopted son of Odin snorted in amusement, then nodded at her. "It's really quite simple. This is a different dimension. Therefore, there are alternate versions of everyone here. At least, there is of me."

A look of revelation dawned across the brown-haired team-leader's face. "So... You've found the alternate version of yourself?"

Loki nodded. "And he's trouble. He stole the rings from me-"

"- You mean the ones you stole in the first place, don't you -"

"- Shut up. My point is, he's the old Loki. The one that killed with out second thoughts, the one who manipulated and lied even his closest friends." Loki tilted his head. "Not that he had any. But this Loki means business."

Kitty raised an eyebrow, clearly doubtful. "And what's that supposed to mean? Would you care to elaborate, oh mighty trickster?"

Loki sighed. "He's going to kill a bunch of people and try and take over the world."

Colossus frowned. "When does he not do that?" His thick Russian accent contrasted starkly with Loki's quite obviously American tone.

The Trickster grimaced. "Well, this time's different, I think..."

And thus the Exposition began.

Quentin Quire was pretty sure that if Pretty-Boy-Who-Has-Way-Too-Many-Shoes and his Goth Butler didn't come back soon, he was going to go full-out Phoenix on them and possibly blow up England. Seriously. It was almost too much for one telepath to take.

Mey-Rin, though sweet, was possibly the most clumsy person he had ever met. And that was saying something, as the pink-haired, highly annoyed telepath lived in the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. He was pretty sure that some of the students were just gifted with incredible maladroit. Seriously, though. How was it possible for one maid to confuse shoe-polish with wax for the banisters, crack every single teacup in all the china sets, and then finish the day by adding ten times as many cups of detergent to the laundry as needed?

And then there was Finny. Why he was a gardener, Quentin would never know. The garden always started out beautifully, he had to admit, but it never lasted. The second day, he had snapped – snapped! – all the trees in the garden in half when he tried to chase a bird with a broken leg. The next day, he killed the rest of the flowers with weed-killer when the tank of very nasty chemicals broke open because he was sitting on it. The telepath had given him some money out of the emergency supply fund that the Goth Butler had left him with, instructing him very clearly on which flowers to bring back. Surprise! When the gardener had come back, he was carrying all the different types of flora available – that is, all the ones that refused to grow in the front garden. Quentin spent two hours trying to telepathically convince the plants to take root. Which is hard, especially since bushes don't actually have brains. (Unless they're alien bushes – the X-Men had all met a few of those.)

And lastly, Baldo. The cook with the mad explosive fetish. Ninety-nine percent of what he served was charcoal. The other one percent was the plate. That was how his cooking went, but the rest of the time, he was even worse. Quentin had no idea how many times the telepath had to confiscate cannons or bazookas or other huge things that shot stuff or blew stuff up, but obviously, he didn't catch everything, because it was a regular thing for the kitchen to spontaneously combust. And if Quire had to listen to the Cooking is Art, and Art Requires Explosions speech one more time, he was sure that he'd pull all of his pink mohawk out. As it was, it was looking a bit thin already.

To tell the truth, Quentin Quire had no idea how the Goth Butler managed it. To keep the three inept servants in check, and still have time to do his various butlering duties, he couldn't be human.

The telepath had no idea how right he was.


	9. Chapter the Ninth: Three Schemers

**A/N: Right! Disclaimer!**

**Ciel: Again, why do I have to do this?**

**Kenzie: Because I'm the author, and I'm making you.**

**Sebastian: I did it last time, Young Master, and it really isn't that bad.**

**Ciel: Fine. Kenzie Perth does not own the X-Men, Loki, or Black Butler. **

**Kenzie: There. That wasn't so hard, was it?**

**Ciel: I guess it wasn't. I was honestly expecting something horrendous to happen, but I guess that was just paranoia. *Suddenly, a bucket of icy cold water is dumped on his head.***

**Kenzie: And I nominate him for the Ice Bucket Challenge! Mwa ha ha ha!**

**Ciel: *Dripping wet* You will pay for this...**

* * *

Loki was surprised with himself, and honestly, more than a bit pleased. It had taken quite a bit of time, and some of his slipperiest manipulation, but the Norse God of Mischief had managed to get the X-Men on his side, and even better, had convinced them not to kill him, or at least, maim him seriously.

He wondered what it said about him that he considered that a winning situation.

There was another problem, though. The three other newbies in the circus – one of them was definitely human, he could tell. The other two, though... Loki was more than certain that at least one of them was a demon, and he would bet his best helmet that the other one – the one with glasses – was a Shinigami. And he knew better than to underestimate the one normal-seeming boy – if he spent his time in the company of demons and Death Gods, he probably was much more than he seemed.

Well, that certainly threw a wrench in his plans.

Ah, well. He wasn't called the God of Lies for nothing. He could weasel his way out any situation, including death. (He'd already done that one multiple times.) A demon who seemed an awful lot like a butler and an irate Shinigami were nothing that he hadn't seen before.

He just had an uneasy feeling about the boy.

He realized why when he played chess with him.

The boy – of course. He knew who he was. Ciel Phantomhive, in the circus? It was laughable, of course, but Loki had seen stranger things, and so the revelation barely ruffled his (nonexistent) feathers.

And the Norse God bet he knew what the boy was doing here, as well. Ciel Phantomhive only took orders from Queen Victoria, if all was the same here as it was back in his Midgard. He only investigated the trickiest of mysteries, the cases that stumped the (questionably) great minds of Scotland Yard.

He was here for the exact same reason Loki was.

So, in other words, it was a competition to who could solve the mystery of the disappearing children first.

Loki always did like a good challenge.

* * *

Ciel Phantomhive knew the moment he saw the young man in strange green clothes that something was off about him. Certainly, his appearance was out of the ordinary, but there was something about him that the boy Earl couldn't quite place his finger on. Something about the man didn't quite seem human.

Of course, the Queen's Watchdog had immediately confided in his butler, hoping for some sort of answer, but to his chagrin, discovered that Sebastian was just as puzzled as he was.

So of course, Ciel challenged the strange man to a chess match.

As the two of them played, (he had to admit, his opponent was very skilled at the game), the blue-haired boy swore he saw a glimmer of recognition in the other's eyes. And yet, by the end of the chess match, he was no wiser.

In fact, if anything, he was more confused.

For the game had ended in stalemate.

The closest that any had come to beating Ciel Phantomhive since his return to his post as the Queen's Watchdog.

Ciel would have to keep a very close eye on that one, for sure.

* * *

Joker watched the chess match from his seat on a pile of crates nearby. Mostly, his thoughts pertained to the disappointing reaction to tent assignments, but in the back of his mind, darker ideas swirled.

What powers did these newcomers posses?

Could they possibly aid with what he and the rest of their circus were doing?

Or could they be here to stop him?

The orange-haired man sighed, shaking his head. He was getting ahead of himself. For all he knew, they were just innocent bystanders who decided to join the circus.

Yeah, right. No, this wouldn't do at all. He'd have to take measures to make sure all fell his way.

* * *

And thus, we leave the three schemers to their own devices as each manipulates and deceives their way to the top. How shall we tell who is the best? Merely by observing the one last standing at the end.

* * *

**Omake 1: Room Assignments.**

Well, it had certainly taken a while, but the combined efforts of Kitty Pryde and Pixie were just enough to calm everyone down.

Joker saw this as his opportunity, and seizing the scroll that he had stashed in his robes as so to protect it during the earlier battle, shook it out and began to speak. (Well, rather, yell. But at a circus, it's basically the same thing, anyway.)

"For room assignments! Smile with Doll!"

The blue-haired boy started in shock, staring at the freckly, unkempt, and quite honestly, rather stinky adolescent, who grinned happily at him, holding out a hand to shake.

"Suit with Black!"

The two tall men turned to face each other, both wearing expressions of disgust and horror. The one clutching the strange pole, Suit, slowly and deliberately pushed up his glasses. The other smiled in a way that suggested he wasn't happy at all.

"We have Cat with Pixie!"

The two young women grinned at each other, secretly fist bumping.

"Gambit will be with Colossus!"

The tall Russian stood silently, glancing down at the Cajun mutant who seemed rather pleased with his room assignment.

"Elf with Red!"

The currently disguised blue and furry mutant made his way over to Rachel, who folded her arms, still obviously unhappy with the presence of Loki.

"Lastly, Shortie with Thief!"

Loki's jaw hit the ground as he slowly turned to stare at the short, hairy, and ill-tempered Canadian mutant. The latter grinned at him in a way that promised pain. The Norse God buried his face in his hands. Luck just wasn't on his side today, was it.

* * *

**A/N: Read and Review, people!**


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